August 30, 2011

Twitter as paperboy: The role of distribution in online publishing

Jason Preston, VP of strategy for Parnassus Group and instigator at several Seattle online publishing startups, posted some interesting observations today about the need for distribution in online publishing.

A blog platform like WordPress, or a proprietary website, is a tool for publishing; Twitter is a tool for distribution. Using Twitter for distribution takes the published message a lot further.

This is a useful paradigm, but its limits got me thinking about the powerful role of subscription in the online world. You can subscribe to have Twitter deliver information from a blog just as you once had a paperboy deliver The Seattle Post-Intelligencer — but now you can also go directly to the publisher (blog) and subscribe by email (or newsreader), eliminating the middleman.

Whether I notice something as the teaser for it scrolls by me in the Twitter stream is pretty haphazard. However, when a post from a blog I’ve subscribed to via email appears in my inbox, I’m likely to read much of it.

Increasingly, I’m subscribing directly to the publisher and bypassing Twitter altogether.

I’ve noticed that groups like XYDO and paper.li have figured out the value of email subscriptions and allow you to subscribe to read a newsletter that displays teasers to your online friends’ favorite links. The XYDO and paper.li algorithms don’t always get it right, but, even so, I’m finding myself paying a lot more attention to the content in those emails than to tweets.

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August 25, 2011

“We can’t say that!” Why not?

I’ve been doing communications, in-house and as a consultant, for more years than I like to admit.

With nearly every client, and certainly with every in-house gig, I remember the meetings in which we’d sit with senior leaders and map out a plan to distract attention from what was really going on in the company.

Occasionally one of us on the communications team would suggest: “Why don’t we just tell people some of what’s going on?”

“We can’t say that!” was always the answer. There would be a general round of patronizing chuckles, gasps of terror, or snorts of scorn (the reaction depended on the organization) before everyone got back to the business of obfuscation.

Curt Woodward, writing today for Xconomy Seattle, describes how SEOmoz CEO Rand Fishkin is breaking that tradition by writing publicly about what he’s doing and thinking as he seeks investment capital for his company. Fishkin’s observations are interesting, and Woodward has made them even more so by consolidating all of Fishkin’s blog posts and other communications using Storify, an online tool for stitching together web-based information.

I don’t think that every company or organization is ready for transparency about its plans, nor are certain issues (such as personnel changes or litigation) appropriate to discuss publicly. But I do think transparency is a trend, and, increasingly, something business partners and consumers will come to expect.

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August 17, 2011

Just imagine

I’m working on the volunteer newsletter staff at Renovation, the World Science Fiction convention held in Reno today through Sunday.

Yesterday I wrote articles about convention transportation and tipping; today I’m off to the local library, across the street from the convention center, which is honoring Renovation with a science fiction exhibit, films, and several “Meet the Author” events.

If you’re at the convention, maybe I’ll see you at the Thursday Steampunk Tea or that evening’s Girl Genius Grand Ball. Look for the newsletter, the High Space Drifter, in a hallway near you later today.

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August 9, 2011

2 keys to great content strategy

This is based on my contribution to a recent LinkedIn discussion (started by Boston web designer Craig Huffstetler) about what a content strategist should do.

1. A content strategist is responsible for knowing 4 things:

  • The communications needs and expectations of the target audiences
  • The strengths and weaknesses of the available communications tools
  • The resources (time, money and expertise) the client organization has to use the tools
  • The messages the organization wants to communicate

2. Based on that information, the content strategist builds realistic communications strategies and options.

When creating those options, it is important to:

  • Resist the lure of the tools. I see a lot of content strategists insisting that organizations use the hottest social media tools and channels — even when the organization’s audience has zero interest in receiving information through those channels.
  • Build on the existing strengths. I keep encountering organizations that have committed to content plans that, in order to succeed, would require 20 times the amount of time, money or expertise available carry them out. The plans fail — and the tools get blamed (“Facebook just doesn’t work for us!”)

The hallmarks of a great content strategist are a firm grip on reality and the ability to help the client face that same reality.

When the results come in, your client will thank you.

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August 4, 2011

News about upcoming writing workshops

Here’s a quick roundup of news on upcoming workshops in the Pacific Northwest for speculative fiction writers. I plan later this month to create a separate page for this information.

Clarion West announces Summer 2012 workshop instructors

The Clarion West Writers Workshop in Seattle has announced the instructors for summer 2012: Mary Rosenblum, Hiromi Goto, George R.R. Martin, Connie Willis, Kelly Link and Gavin Grant, and Chuck Palahniuk.

Yes, that George R.R. Martin.

Applications for the six-week intensive writing program will be accepted beginning in December. You can find more information on the Clarion West website.

Clarion West now offers one-day workshops

This fall Clarion West is hosting a series of one-day workshops in Seattle:

  • “Alive in the World,” taught by Molly Gloss
  • “Jumpstart Your Novel,” taught by Mark Tepp0
  • “Your First Scene,” taught by Nancy Kress (including a critique component for which writing must be submitted in advance)

Cascade Writers Workshop announces 2012 program

The 2012 Cascade Writers Workshop, scheduled for Vancouver, WA, in July 2012, will include workshop/critique groups led by Tor editor Beth Meacham, literary agent Michael Carr, and novelists Ken Scholes and Jay Lake. More information is available on the Cascade Writers website.

Cascade Writers reaches beyond Science Fiction and Fantasy to include Mystery/Suspense/Thriller, Young Adult, Historical, Non-Fiction, and Commercial writing(though this year, when I attended, a majority of the students were focused on fantasy and science fiction).

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July 12, 2011

The writer’s cat and the dish of strawberries

The cat was sitting peacefully on the table, a dish of fresh strawberries by her paws.

I snapped the picture.

A minute later, the crash: Glass bowl in pieces on the patio pavers, strawberries among the shards. Cat, still sitting peacefully on the table, now facing me.

“So what?” she seemed to ask.

As I crawled around under the table, carefully picking up the pieces of glass, I was thinking about the importance of the first line of a story, or the first page of a book.

Do you start with the peaceful cat and berries? With the defiant cat among the broken glass and spoiled fruit? Or with the broken bowl and berries, no perpetrator in sight?

Yes, it’s the fourth week of the Clarion West Write-a-thon, and every domestic disaster is fodder for fiction. I’m working on the second of my three pledged short stories (which is not about strawberries). Clarion West Board Chair Kelley Eskridge has challenged the 142 people writing to raise funds for the organization to each bring in an additional sponsor, via PayPal or check, this week.

Will you become my next sponsor? If you’re local, I’ll bring you the next bowl of strawberries from the garden. Before the cat gets it.

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June 30, 2011

What to do before upgrading your Mac to OS X Lion

If you have a Mac and have concerns about upgrading to the Lion operating system (expected to be released at any minute), good news: You can get clear step-by-step directions and advice from Joe Kissell’s new ebook “Take Control of Upgrading to Lion” ($10).

This not an idle recommendation on my part. I’ve been using Joe’s ebooks about operating system software for years. On several occasions they’ve saved me from making decisions about software configurations that I would have later regretted.

Joe takes the surprises out of the process — you know, the part where you find out two days after installation that the scanner you want to use right now won’t work with the new operating system. Really, there’s no need for that to happen. Joe’s ebook explains how to check your current software and hardware in advance so you know about potential glitches and can make adjustments before the upgrade screws up your workflow.

Those of you who might be planning on calling me if Lion gets confusing should know that I’ve already got an answer to your questions. That would be: Download “Take Control of Upgrading to Lion” and use it!

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